* 


:NSTBUCTIONS 


RELATIVE  TO 


TOWN-SITES  ON  PUBLIC  LANDS. 


(ISTot   applicalile   to 


1 


GENERAL    LAND    OFFICE, 
JULY    9.   1886. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVI.KsMK.VT    PUINTINC}    OFFICE. 

181)0. 


CIRCULAR 


INSTRUCTIONS 


RELATIVE  TO 


TOWN-SITES  ON  PUBLIC  LANDS. 


(Not   applicable   to   -A.lask:a.) 


GENERAL    LAND    OFFICE, 

JULY    9,   1886. 


REPKINT. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT   PRINTING    OFFICE. 
1899. 


c 


INTERIOR  DEPARTMENT, 

GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE, 
Washington,  D.  C.,  June  22,  1899. 
This  circular  is  reissued  for  the  informatiou  and  benefit  of  those 

concerned. 

BINGER  HERMANN, 

Commissioner. 
Approved : 

THOS.  RYAN, 

Acting  Secretary. 


CIRCULAR 

RELATING  TO 


MANNER  OF  ACQUIRING  TITLE  TO  TOWN-SITES  ON  PUB- 
LIC LANDS. 


t  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR, 

GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE, 
Washington,  D.  <?.,  July  9,  1886. 
REGISTERS  AND  RECEIVERS, 

United  States  Land  Offices  : 

GENTLEMEN  :  There  are  three  methods  by  which  title  may  be  ac- 
quired to  public  lands  for  town-site  purposes :  one  provided  for  in  sec- 
tions 2380  and  2381 ;  another  in  sections  2382,  2383,  2384,  2385,  and 
2386 ;  and  the  third  in  sections  2387,  2388,  and  2389,  United  States  Be- 
vised  Statutes. 

I. 

Section  2380  authorizes  the  President  to  reserve  public  lands  for 
town-site  purposes  on  the  shores  of  harbors,  at  the  junction  of  rivers, 
important  portages,  or  any  natural  or  prospective  centers  of  population. 
Section  2381  provides  for  the  survey  of  such  reservation  into  urban  or 
suburban  lots,  the  appraisement  of  the  same,  and  the  sale  thereof  at 
public  outcry;  the  lots  remaining  unsold  are  thereafter  to  be  disposed 
of  at  public  sale  or  private  entry,  at  not  less  than  the  appraised  value 
thereof. 

II. 

Sections  2382,  2383,  2384, 2385,  and  2386,  Revised  Statutes  (act  3d 
March,  1863,  12  Stat.,  754;  act  3d  March,  1865, 13  Stat.,  530),  limit  the 
extent  of  the  area  of  the  city  or  town  which  may  be  entered  under  said 
acts  to  640  acres,  to  be  laid  off  in  lots,  which,  after  filing  in  this  office 
the  statement,  transcripts,  and  testimony  required  by  section  2383,  are 
to  be  offered  at  public  sale  to  the  highest  bidder  at  a  minimum  of  $10 
for  each  lot. 

An  actual  settler  upon  any  one  lot  may  pre-empt  that  lot,  and  any 
additional  lot  on  which  he  may  have  substantial  improvements,  at  said 
minimum  at  any  time  before  the  day  of  sale.  Such  person  must  furnish 
pre-emption  proof  showing  residence  and  improvement  upon  the  origi- 
nal lot  and  improvement  upon  additional  lot,  after  the  usual  notice  of 
intention  by  publication. 

Lots  not  disposed  of  at  time  of  public  sale  are  thereafter  subject 
to  private  entry  at  such  minimum  or  at  such  reasonable  price  as  the 

3 


Secretary  of  the  Interior  may  order  from  time  to  time,  after  at  least 
three  months'  notice,  as  the  municipal  property  may  increase  or  de- 
crease in  value. 
The  preliminaries  required  by  this  method  are : 

1.  Parties  having  founded  or  who  desire  to  found  a  city  or  town  on  the 
public  lands,  under  the  provisions  of  sections  2382, 2383,  2384, 2385,  and 
2886,  must  file  with  the  recorder  of  the  county  in  which  the  land  is 
situate  a  plat  thereof,  describing  the  exterior  boundaries  of  the  land 
according  to  the  lines  of  public  surveys,  where  such  surveys  have  been 
made. 

2.  Such  plat  must  state  the  name  of  the  city  or  town,  exhibit  the 
streets,  squares,  blocks,  lots,  and  alleys,  and  specify  the  size  of  the  same, 
with  measurements  and  area  of  each  municipal  subdivision,  the  lots 
in  which  shall  not  exceed  4,200  square  feet,  with  a  statement  of  the 
extent  and  general  character  of  the  improvements. 

3.  The  plat  and  statement  must  be  verified  by  the  oath  of  the  party 
acting  for  and  in  behalf  of  the  occupants  and  inhabitants  of  the  town 
or  city.  (~ 

4.  Within  one  month  after  filing  the  plat  with  the  recorder  of  the 
county  a  verified  copy  of  said  plat  and  statement  must  be  sent  to  the 
General  Land  Office,  accompanied  by  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses 
that  such  town  or  city  has  been  established  in  good  faith. 

5.  Where  the  city  or  town  is  within  the  limits  of  an  organized  land 
district  a  similar  map  and  statement  must  be  filed  with  the  register  and 
receiver.    The  exterior  boundary  lines  of  the  town,  if  upon  the  land  over 
which  Government  surveys  have  not  been  extended,  may,  when  such 
surveys  are  so  extended,  be  adjusted  according  to  those  lines,  where  it 
can  be  done  without  impairing  vested  rights. 

6.  In  case  the  parties  interested  shall  fail  or  refuse,  within  twelve 
months  after  founding  a  city  or  town,  to  file  in  the  General  Land  Office 
a  transcript  map,  with  the  statement  and  testimony  called  for  by  sec- 
tion 2382,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  may  cause  a  survey  and  plat  to 
be  made  of  said  city  or  town,  and  thereafter  the  lots  will  be  sold  at  an 
increase  of  50  per  cent,  on  the  minimum  price  of  $10  per  lot. 

7.  When  lots  vary  in  size  from  the  limitation  fixed  in  section  2382 
(4,200  square  feet),  and  the  lots,  buildings,  and  improvements  cover 
an  area  greater  than  640  acres,  such  variance  as  to  size  of  lots  or  excess 
in  area  will  prove  no  bar  to  entry,  but  the  price  of  the  lots  may  be 
increased  to  such  reasonable  amount  as  the  Secretary  may  by  rule  ( 
establish. 

8.  Title  to  be  acquired  to  town  lots  embracing  mineral  entries  is  sub- 
ject to  recognized  possession  and  necessary  use  for  mining  purposes,  as 
provided  in  section  2386. 

III. 

Lands  actually  settled  upon  and  occupied  as  a  town-site,  and  there- 
fore not  subject  to  entry  under  the  agricultural  pre-emption  laws,  may 
be  entered  as  a  town-site,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  sections 
2387,  2388,  and  2389,  United  States  Revised  Statutes.  (Act  March  2, 
1867,  14  Stat,  541 ;  act  March  3,  1877,  19  Stat.,  392.) 

1.  If  the  town  is  incorporated,  the  entry  may  be  made  by  the  cor- 
porate authorities  thereof  through  the  mayor  or  other  principal  officer 
duly  authorized  so  to  do. 

2.  If  the  town  is  not  incorporated,  the  entry  may  be  made  by  the 
judge  of  the  county  court  for  the  county  in  which  said  town  is  situated. 


3.  In  either  case  the  entry  must  be  made  in  trust  for  the  use  and  bene- 
fit of  the  occupants  thereof,  according  to  their  respective  interests. 

4.  The  execution  of  such  trust  as  to  the  disposal  of  lots  and  the  pro- 
ceeds of  sales  is  to  be  conducted  under  regulations  prescribed  by  state 
or  territorial  laws.    Acts  of  trustees  not  in  accordance  with  such  regu- 
lations are  void. 

5.  Private  individuals  or  organizations  are  not  authorized  to  enter 
town-sites  under  this  act,  nor  can  entries  under  this  act  be  made  of 
prospective  town-sites.    The  town  must  be  actually  established,  and 
the  entry  must  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  actual  inhabitants  and  occu- 
pants thereof. 

6.  The  officer  authorized  to  enter  a  town-site  may  make  entry  at  once, 
or  he  may  initiate  an  entry  by  filing  a  declaratory  statement  of  the  pur- 
pose of  the  inhabitants  to  make  a  town-site  entry  of  the  land  described. 

7.  The  entry  or  declaratory  statement  shall  include  only  such  land  as 
is  actually  occupied  by  the  town,  and  the  title  to  which  is  in  the  United 
States,  and,  if  upon  surveyed  lands,  its  exterior  limits  must  conform  to 

I  the  legal  subdivisions  of  the  public  lands. 

8.  The  amount  of  land  that  may  be  entered  under  this  act  is  propor- 
tionate to  the  number  of  inhabitants.    One  hundred  and  less  than  two 
hundred  inhabitants  may  enter  not  to  exceed  320  acres ;  two  hundred 
and  less  than  one  thousand  inhabitants  may  enter  not  to  exceed  640 
acres ;  and  where  the  inhabitants  number  one  thousand  and  over  an 
amount  not  to  exceed  1,280  acres  may  be  entered ;  and  for  each  addi- 
tional one  thousand  inhabitants,  not  to  exceed  five  thousand  in  all,  a 
further  amount  of  320  acres  may  be  allowed. 

9.  When  the  number  of  inhabitants  of  a  town  is  less  than  one  hun- 
dred the  town-site  shall  be  restricted  to  the  land  actually  occupied  for 
town  purposes,  by  legal  subdivisions. 

10.  Where  an  entry  is  made  of  less  than  the  maximum  quantity  of 
land  allowed  for  town-site  purposes,  additional  entries  may  be  made  of 
contiguous  tracts  occupied  for  town  purposes,  which,  when  added  to 
the  previous  entry  or  entries,  will  not  exceed  2,560  acres ;  but  no  addi- 
tional entry  can  be  allowed  which  will  make  the  total  area  exceed  the 
area  to  which  the  town  may  be  entitled  by  virtue  of  its  population  at 
date  of  additional  entry. 

11.  The  land  must  be  paid  for  at  the  Government  price  per  acre,  and  . 
proof  must  be  furnished  relating — 

1st,  To  municipal  occupation  of  the  land ; 
2d,    Number  of  inhabitants ; 
3d,    Extent  and  value  of  town  improvements , 
4th,  Date  when  land  was  first  used  for  town-site  purposes ; 
5th,  Official  character  and  authority  of  officer  making  entry ;  and 
6th,  If  an  incorporated  town,  proof  of  incorporation,  which  should 
be  a  certified  copy  of  the  act  of  incorporation. 

12.  Thirty  days'  publication  of  notice  of  intention  to  make  proof  must 
be  made  and  proof  of  publication  furnished. 

13.  Title  cannot  be  acquired  under  this  act  to  mines  of  gold,  silver, 
cinnabar,  or  copper,  nor  to  any  valid  mining  claim  or  possession.    A 
non-mineral  affidavit  is  required  in  all  states  and  territories  except 
Florida,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Louisiana,  Minnesota,  Mississippi,  Missouri,  and 
Wisconsin. 

14.  A  greater  quantity  of  land  than  2,560  acres  is  not  excluded  from 
pre-emption  or  homestead  entry  because  of  town-site  reservations  un- 
less the  excess  in  area  is  actually  settled  upon,  inhabited,  improved, 
and  used  for  business  and  municipal  purposes. 


15.  If  the  corporate  limits  of  a  town  are  iii  excess  of  the  maximum 

area  authorized  to  be  entered  as  a  town- site,  the  proper  quantity  may 

be  set  off,  as  provided  in  section  3  of  the  act  of  March  3, 1877,  and  the 

residue  be  open  to  disposal  under  the  homestead  and  pre-emption  laws. 

Very  respectfully, 

WM.  A.  J.  SPARKS, 

Commissioner. 
Approved : 

L.  Q.  C.  LAMAR, 

Secretary. 
NOVEMBER  5, 1886. 


LAWS  RELATING  TO  TOWN-SITES. 

RESERVATION  AND  SALE  OF  TOWN-SITES  ON  THE  PUBLIC  LANDS.       ^ 

SECTION  2380.  The  President  is  authorized  to  reserve  from  the  public 

Town.«ites  to  be  reserved,  lands,  whether  surveyed  or  unsurveyed,  town-sites 

3  March,  1863,  c.  8o,8.i,v'.  on  the  shores  of  harbors,  at  the  junction  of  rivers, 

12,  p.  754.  important  portages,  or  any  natural  or  prospective 

centers  of  population. 

SEC.  2381.  When,  in  the  opinion  of  the  President,  the  public  interests 
require  it,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of 
r"  the  Interior  to  cause  any  of  such  reservations,  or 
1863>  °'  8°'  "'  2>  Par*  thereof,  to  be  surveyed  into  urban  or  subur- 
ban lots  of  suitable  size,  and  to  fix  by  appraisement 
of  disinterested  persons  their  cash  value,  and  to  offer  the  same  for  sale 
at  public  outcry  to  the  highest  bidder,  and  thence  afterward  to  be  held 
subject  to  sale  at  private  entry  according  to  such  regulations  as  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  may  prescribe  ;  but  no  lot  shall  be  disposed 
of  at  public  sale  or  private  entry  for  less  than  the  appraised  value 
thereof;  and  all  such  sales  shall  be  conducted  by  the  register  and  re- 
ceiver of  the  land  office  in  the  district  in  which  the  reservation  may  be 
situated,  in  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  the  Commissioner  of 
the  General  Land  Office. 
SEC.  2382.  In  any  case  in  which  parties  have  already  founded,  or  / 

may  hereafter  desire  to  found,  a  city  or  town  on  the  v_-  ' 
p      public  lands,  it  may  be  lawful  for  them  to  cause  to 


v  1i3Jnly34^64'  °'  2°5'  8'  2>  ^e  ^e(^  W^k  tke  recorder  for  the  county  in  which 
the  same  is  situated  a  plat  thereof,  for  not  exceed- 
ing six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  describing  its  exterior  boundaries  ac- 
cording to  the  lines  of  the  public  surveys,  where  such  surveys  have 
been  executed  ;  also  giving  the  name  of  such  city  or  town,  and  exhibit- 
ing the  streets,  squares,  blocks,  lots,  and  alleys,  the  size  of  the  same,  with 
measurements  and  area  of  each  municipal  subdivision,  the  lots  in  which 
shall  each  not  exceed  four  thousand  two  hundred  square  feet,  with  a  state- 
ment of  the  extent  and  general  character  of  the  improvements  ;  such  map 
and  statement  to  be  verified  under  oath  by  the  party  acting  for  and  in  be- 
half of  the  persons  proposing  to  establish  such  city  or  town  j  and  within 
one  mouth  after  such  filing  there  shall  be  transmitted  to  the  General 
Land  Office  a  verified  transcript  of  such  map  and  statement,  accompa- 
nied by  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  that  such  city  or  town  has  been 
established  in  good  faith,  and  when  the  premises  are  within  the  limits  of 
an  organized  land  district,  a  similar  map  and  statement  shall  be  filed  with 


tLe  register  and  receiver,  and  at  any  time  after  the  filing  of  such  map, 
statement,  and  testimony  in  the  General  Land  Office  it  may  be  lawful 
for  the  President  to  cause  the  lots  embraced  within  the  limits  of  such 
city  or  town  to  be  ottered  at  public  sale  to  the  highest  bidder,  subject 
to  a  minimum  of  ten  dollars  for  each  lot ;  and  such  lots  as  may  not  be 
disposed  of  at  public  sale  shall  thereafter  be  liable  to  private  entry  at 
such  minimum,  or  at  such  reasonable  increase  or  diminution  thereafter 
as  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  may  order  from  time  to  time,  after  at 
least  three  months'  notice,  in  view  of  the  increase  ordecrease  in  the  value 
of  the  municipal  property.  But  any  actual  settler  upon  any  lot,  as 
above  provided,  and  upon  any  additional  lot  in  which  he  may  have 
substantial  improvements,  shall  be  entitled  to  prove  up  and  purchase 
the  same  as  a  pre-emption,  at  such  minimum,  at  any  time  before  the 
day  fixed  for  the  public  sale. 

SEC.  2383.  When  such  cities  or  towns  are  established  upon  unsur- 
veyed  lands,  it  maybe  lawful,  after  the  extension     ^e^^6St&b}ish6A 
^thereto  of  the  public  surveys,  to  adjust  the  extension  upon  unsnrveyed  lands, 
limits  of    the  premises    according  to  those  lines,  gggf00  UmitSl  how  *d< 
where  it  can  be  done  without  interference  with  rights     i  July,  1864,  c.  205,  s.  3, 
which  maybe  vested  by  sale;  and  patents  for  all  V-13'P-344- 
lots  so  disposed  of  at  public  or  private  sale  shall  issue  as  in  ordinary 
cases. 

SEC.  2384.  If  within  twelve  months  from  the  establishment  of  a  town 
or  city  on  the  public  domain  the  parties  interested 
refuse  or  fail  to  file  in  the  General  Land  Office  a  ofT^n 
transcript  map,  with  the  statement  and  testimony  twelve 
called  for  by  the  provisions  of  section  twenty-three  inferi<£. 
hundred  and  eighty-two,  it  may  be  lawful  for  the  V113J^41864-  °- 205'8'4' 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  to  cause  a  survey  and  plat 
to  be  made  of  such  city  or  town,  and  thereafter  the  lots  in  the  same 
shall  be  disposed  of  as  required  by  such  provisions,  with  this  exception, 
that  they  shall  each  be  at  an  increase  of  fifty  per  centum  on  the  min- 
imum of  ten  dollars  per  lot. 

SEC.  2385.  In  the  case  of  any  city  or  town,  in  which  the  lots  may  be 
variant  as  to  size  from  the  limitation  fixed  in  section 
twenty-three  hundred  and  eighty-two,  and  in  which  to^at8^ry°Lmt9ge^ 
the  lots  and  buildings,  as  municipal  improvements,  erai  rale. 
I  cover  an  area  greater  than  six  hundred  and  forty  ^s^S.1865'  °' 10?> "" 2' 
acres,  such  variance  as  to  size  of  lots  or  excess  in 
area  shall  prove  no  bar  to  such  city  or  town  claim  under  the  provisions 
of  that  section;  but  the  minimum  price  of  each  lot  in  such  city  or  town, 
which  may  contain  a  greater  number  of  square  feet  than  the  maximum 
named  in  that  section,  shall  be  increased  to  such  reasonable  amount  as 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  may  by  rule  establish. 

SEC.  2386.  Where  mineral  veins  are  possessed,  which  possession  is 
recognized  by  local  authority,  and  to  the  extent  so     T(fle  to  lotg          t  to 
possessed  and  recognized,the  title  to  town-lots  to  mineral  rights. 
be  acquired  shall  be  subject  to  such  recognized  pos-  v  S1jt£°5y0.1885t  °' 107' "' 2> 
session  and  the  necessary  use  thereof;  but  nothing 
contained  in  this  section  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  recognize  any  color 
of  title  in  possessors  for  mining  purposes  as  against  the  United  States. 

SEC.  2387.  Whenever  any  portion  of  the  public  lands  have  been  or 
may  be  settled  upon  and  occupied  as  a .town-site,  town  authoritie(| 

not  subject  to  entry  under  the  agricultural  pre-  ^  trust  for  occupants. 
eruption  laws,  it  is  lawful,  in  case  such  town  be  in-     2^arch' 1867-  °- 1T7' v- 14- 
corporated,  for  the  corporate  authorities  thereof,  p 
and,  if  not  incorporated,  for  the  judge  of  the  county  court  for  the  county 


in  which  such  town  is  situated,  to  enter  at  the  proper  land  office,  and 
at  the  minimum  price,  the  land  so  settled  and  occupied  in  trust  for  the 
several  use  and  benefit  of  the  occupants  thereof,  according  to  their  re- 
spective interests ;  the  execution  of  which  trust,  as  to  the  disposal  of 
lots  in  such  town,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  thereof,  to  be  conducted 
nnder  such  regulations  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the  legislative  author- 
ity of  the  state  or  territory  in  which  the  same  may  be  situated. 
SEC.  2388.  The  entry  of  the  land  provided  for  in  the  preceding  sec- 
tion shall  be  made,  or  a  declaratory  statement  of 
iwSSe1!1*  the  purpose  of  the  inhabitants  to  enter  it  as  a  town- 
,  1867.  «•  I1". v- 1*.  site  shall  be  filed  with  the  register  of  the  proper 
land  office,  prior  to  the  commencement  of  the  pub- 
lic sale  of  the  body  of  land  in  which  it  is  included,  and  the  entry  or 
declaratory  statement  shall  include  only  such  land  as  is  actually  occu- 
pied by  the  town  and  the  title  to  which  is  in  the  United  States;  but  in 
any  territory  in  which  a  land  office  may  not  have  been  established,  such 
declaratory  statements  may  be  filed  with  the  surveyor-general  of  the 
surveying  district  in  which  the  lands  are  situated,  who  shall  transmi^ 
the  same  to  the  General  Land  Office. 

2389.  If  upon  surveyed  lands,  the  entry  shall  in  its  exterior 
limit  be  made  in  conformity  to  the  legal  subdivis- 
Ei2te.to  ions  of  the  public  lands  authorized  by  law;  and 
u2  ^£]roh' 1867' e' 177>  v'  wnere  tne  inhabitants  are  in  number  one  hundred, 
and  less  than  two  hundred,  shall  embrace  not  ex- 
ceeding three  hundred  and  twenty  acres ;  and  in  cases  where  the  inhabi- 
tants of  such  town  are  more  than  two  hundred,  and  less  than  one  thous- 
and, shall  embrace  not  exceeding  six  hundred  and  forty  acres ;  and 
where  the  number  of  inhabitants  is  one  thousand  and  over  one  thousand, 
shall  embrace  not  exceeding  twelve  hundred  and  eighty  acres ;  but  for 
each  additional  one  thousand  inhabitants,  not  exceeding  five  thousand 
in  all,  a  further  grant  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  shall  be  al- 
lowed. 

******  * 

SEC.  2391.  Any  act  of  the  trustees  not  made  in  conformity  to  the 
Certain  acts  of  trustees  to  regulations  alluded  to  in  section  twenty-three  huu- 
be  void.  dred  and  eighty-seven  shall  be  void. 

2  March,  18«7,  c.  177,  v.  14, 
p.  Ml. 

SEC.  2392.  No  title  shall  be  acquired,  under  the  foregoing  provisions  I 
NO  title  acquired  to  gold  of  this  chapter,  to  any  mine  of  gold,  silver,  cinna- 
mines,  &c.,  or  to  mining  bar,  or  copper,  or  to  any  valid  mining-claim  or 
"'S&rS'  1867,0. 177,0.68,  possession  held  under  existing  laws. 

v.  15,  p.  67. 

SEC.  2393.  The  provisions  of  this  chapter  shall  not  apply  to  military 

Mil-          th  r      rva-  or  otner  reservations  heretofore  made  by  the  United 

tion8,l&cT  °  *"  States,  nor  to  reservations  for  light-houses,  custom- 

search,  1867,  c.  177,  v.  M,  kou8eS)  mints,  or  such  other  public  purposes  as  the 

interests  of  the  United  States  may  require,  whether 

held  under  reservations  through  the  Land  Office  by  title  derived  from 

the  Crown  of  Spain,  or  otherwise. 

SEC.  2394.  The  inhabitants  of  any  town  located  on  the  public  lands 
may  avail  themselves,  if  the  town  authorities  choose 
public  land?  right^of,  to  to  do  so,  of  the  provisions  of  sections  twenty-three 
*D8tejune  1868  c  53  v  is  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  twenty-three  hundred 
p.  67.  '  and  eighty-eight,  and  twenty -three  hundred  and 

eighty-nine;  and,  in  addition  to  the  minimum  price  of  the  lands  embrac- 


<* 


ng  any  town-site  so  entered,  there  shall  be  paid  by  the  parties  availing 
themselves  of  such  provisions  all  costs  of  surveying  and  platting  any 
such  town  site,  and  expenses  incident  thereto  incurred  by  the  United 
States,  before  any  patent  issues  therefor;  but  nothing  contained  in  the 
sections  herein  cited  shall  prevent  the  issuance  of  patents  to  persons 
who  have  made  or  may  hereafter  make  entries,  and  elect  to  proceed 
under  other  laws  relative  to  town-sites  in  this  chapter  set  forth. 


AN  ACT  respecting  the  limits  of  reservations  for  town-sites  upon  the  public  domain. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  existence  or  incorpo- 
ration of  any  town  upon  the  public  lands  of  the  United  States  shall 
not  be  held  to  exclude  from  pre-emption  or  homestead  entry  a  greater 
quantity  than  twenty-five  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  or  the  max- 
imum area  which  may  be  entered  as  a  town-site  under  existing  laws, 

nless  the  entire  tract  claimed  or  incorporated  as  such  town- site  shall, 
including  and  in  excess  of  the  area  above  specified,  be  actually  settled 
upon,  inhabited,  improved,  and  used  for  business  and  municipal  pur- 
poses. 

SEC.  2.  That  where  entries  have  been  heretofore  allowed  upon  lands 
afterward  ascertained  to  have  been  embraced  in  the  corporate  limits 
of  any  town,  but  which  entries  are  or  shall  be  shown,  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  to  include  only  vacant 
unoccupied  lands  of  the  United  States,  not  settled  upon  or  used  for 
municipal  purposes,  nor  devoted  to  any  public  use  of  such  town,  said 
entries,  if  regular  in  all  respects,  are  hereby  confirmed,  and  may  be 
carried  into  patent :  Provided,  That  this  confirmation  shall  not  operate 
to  restrict  the  entry  of  any  town-site  to  a  smaller  area  than  the  max- 
imum quantity  of  land  which,  by  reason  of  present  population,  it  may 
be  entitled  to  enter  under  section  twenty -three  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine  of  the  Revised  Statutes. 

SEO.  3.  That  whenever  the  corporate  limits  of  any  town  upon  the 
public  domain  are  shown  or  alleged  to  include  lands  in  excess  of  the 
maximum  area  specified  in  section  one  of  this  act,  the  Commissioner 
of  the  General  Land  Office  may  require  the  authorities  of  such  town, 

I  and  it  shall  be  lawful  for  them,  to  elect  what  portion  of  said  lands,  in 
compact  form  and  embracing  the  actual  site  of  the  municipal  occupa- 
tion and  improvement,  shall  be  withheld  from  pre-emption  and  home- 
stead entry ;  and  thereafter  the  residue  of  such  lands  shall  be  open  to 
disposal  under  the  homestead  and  pre-emption  laws.  And  upon  de- 
fault of  said  town  authorities  to  make  such  selection  within  sixty  days 
after  notification  by  the  Commissioner,  he  may  direct  testimony  re- 
specting the  actual  location  and  extent  of  said  improvements  to  be 
taken  by  the  register  and  receiver  of  the  district  in  which  such  town 
may  be  situated ;  and  upon  receipt  of  the  same  he  may  determine  and 
set  off  the  proper  site,  according  to  section  one  of  this  act,  and  declare 
the  remaining  lands  open'to  settlement  and  entry  under  the  homestead 
and  pre-emption  laws;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  secretary  of  each 
of  the  territories  of  the  United  States  to  furnish  the  surveyor-general 
of  the  territory,  for  the  use  of  the  United  States,  a  copy  duly  certified 
of  every  act  of  the  legislature  of  the  territory  incorporating  any  city 
or  town,  the  same  to  be  forwarded  by  such  secretary  to  the  surveyor- 
general  within  one  month  from  date  of  its  approval. 


10 

SEC.  4.  It  shall  be  lawful  for  auy  town  which  has  made,  or  may  here- 
after make,  entry  of  less  than  the  maximum  quantity  of  land  named  in 
section  twenty-three  hundred  and  eighty-nine  of  the  Revised  Statutes 
to  make  such  additional  entry,  or  entries,  of  contiguous  tracts,  which 
may  be  occupied  for  town  purposes,  as  when  added  to  the  entry  or  en- 
tries theretofore  made  will  not  exceed  twenty-five  hundred  and  sixty 
acres:  Provided,  That  silch  additional  entry  shall  not  together  with  all 
prior  entries  be  in  excess  of  the  area  to  which  the  town  may  be  en- 
titled at  date  of  the  additional  entry  by  virtue  of  its  population,  as  pre- 
scribed in  said  section  twenty-three  hundred  and  eighty-nine. 

Approved  March  3,  1877. 


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